Thinking Digital Women 2016

The day began with a seminar from Newcastle University’s Maryam Mehrnezhad on mobile sensors, covering the types of sensors in our smartphones and wearable technology. Sensors include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, fingerprint scan, GPS and others you may be familiar with, alongside accelerometers and gyroscopes, which detect movement and orientation. They’re used to automate daily tasks and make life easier, but can also introduce a security risk to your data.

We then experienced a day of impressive and rousing talks from a range of professionals, from rocket scientist Amanda Regan on her journey from curious engineer to working at the European Space Agency, to Twitter software expert Jessie Link, who was at the forefront of the launch of Twitter’s live video function. We also heard from Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-founder of Stemettes, an organisation that encourages young women into the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths, and Judith Williams, Head of Global Diversity at Dropbox, on creating inclusive businesses.